Floorboards having patterned joint spacing and method

ABSTRACT

An elongated floorboard is formed by finger jointing together in endwise fashion a plurality of relatively short sections of wood. The finger joints are formed at an oblique angle to the elongation direction of the floorboards to provide a repetitive series of visible joining lines. Floorboards having their joining lines in different orientations may be arranged adjacent to one another in various combinations to form floors having a variety of different patterns.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the formation of elongated floorboardsfrom individual sections of wood and, more particularly, to suchfloorboards wherein the sections are connected to form a patterned jointspacing. In addition, the present invention relates to the arrangementof such floorboards to form floors having unique patterns.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Hardwood flooring has long been an elegant and desirable floor coveringfor use in homes. Such flooring typically consists of elongated stripsof lumber arranged adjacent to one another and nailed in place to covera selected area. In order to provide the beautiful appearance typical ofhardwood floors, the strips of lumber must be carefully chosen to bedefect free. Hence, only lumber of the highest quality may be used forsuch flooring. As the availability of this high-quality lumber began todwindle, it was inevitable that hardwood flooring would become moreexpensive. Today, the cost of such flooring is so prohibitive that it isnot economically feasible to provide less costly homes with hardwoodfloors.

Any attempt to produce floorboards from an inferior-quality lumber wouldresult in an aesthetically unappealing product. Thus, inferior lumberscontain defects which must be removed before the lumber can be used as aflooring material. Since the defects occur at random locationsthroughout the lumber, the most efficient use of the lumber results inthe formation of floorboards having a variety of random lengths. Many ofthese lengths are extremely short and essentially unusable, thereforebecoming scrap material.

There therefore exists a need for a floorboard which is aestheticallypleasing but sufficiently inexpensive that it may be used to providehardwood floors in even less costly homes. In particular, the needsexists for a floorboard which may be produced from lumber of an inferiorquality while, at the same time, making efficient use of such lumberwith minimal waste.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, these needs havenow been addressed by the invention of a floorboard consisting of aplurality of elongated sections each having a preselected length, theplurality of sections connected to one another in endwise fashion toform a continuous strip in an elongation direction, the connectionbetween adjacent ones of the plurality of sections forming a jointhaving a distinct line at an oblique angle to the elongation direction.Preferably, the plurality of sections are connected by finger joints.

In one embodiment, the preselected lengths of each of the sections areequal.

In another embodiment, the distinct lines in the floorboard are all atequal oblique angles to the elongation direction. Preferably, all of theoblique angles are about 45 degrees.

In more preferred embodiments, the distinct lines include a shallowchannel formed coextensively therewith so that the distinct lines aremore pronounced.

Preferred embodiments of this aspect of the present invention provideelongated floorboards having a desirable aesthetic appearance, but whichmay be produced with minimal waste from lumber of an inferior quality.Moreover, the preferred floorboards according to the present inventionmay be constructed using known joining techniques which are readilyperformed and economical.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a floor isprovided by arranging a plurality of floorboards adjacent to one anotherto form a planar assembly, each of the plurality of floorboardscomprising a plurality of elongated sections each having a preselectedlength, the plurality of sections connected to one another in endwisefashion to form a continuous strip in an elongation direction, theconnection between adjacent ones of the plurality of sections forming ajoint having a distinct line transverse to the elongation direction, thedistinct line in at least some of the plurality of floorboards beingdisposed at an oblique angle to the elongation direction. Preferably,the plurality of sections are connected by finger joints.

In one embodiment, the distinct lines in any one of the floorboards areall at equal oblique angles to the elongation direction.

In another embodiment, the distinct lines in each of the floorboards areall at equal oblique angles to the elongation direction, preferably at45 degree oblique angles.

In yet another embodiment, the preselected lengths of the sections inany one of the floorboards are equal. Preferably, the preselectedlengths of the sections in all of the floorboards are equal.

In preferred embodiments, the distinct lines on adjacent floorboardsintersect one another to form a pattern. In highly preferredembodiments, the oblique angles in ones of the floorboards are in adirection opposite to the oblique angles in others of the floorboards.

Preferred embodiments of this aspect of the present invention providefloors for either indoor or outdoor use in which a variety of differentpatterns may be achieved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the subject matter of the presentinvention and the various advantages thereof can be realized byreference to the following detailed description, in which reference ismade to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of a floorboard of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a partial front view of the floorboard shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial plan view of the floorboard shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partial front view of the floorboard of FIG. 1 showing agroove formed along each of the joints;

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view of another floorboard of thepresent invention illustrating a tongue and groove formed on thelongitudinal edges thereof;

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a plurality of the floorboards of thepresent invention arranged with the joining angle on adjacent boardsgoing in opposite directions;

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a plurality of the floorboards of thepresent invention arranged in an alternating pattern with floorboardshaving perpendicular joints, and

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a plurality of the floorboards of thepresent invention formed with sections of unequal length.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, there is illustrated one preferred embodiment ofa floorboard 10 in accordance with the present invention. Floorboard 10is formed from a plurality of relatively short sections of wood 12having substantially the same width and thickness which are joinedtogether in endwise fashion to form a floorboard having a desiredlength. Although the particular species of wood from which sections 12are formed is not critical to the present invention, the use ofhardwoods which will resist scratching and denting is preferred.Moreover, it is generally preferred that all of the sections 12 in asingle floorboard 10 be derived from the same species of wood so as tohave the same color, grain pattern and other aesthetic qualitiesthroughout. When desired, however, different species of wood may be usedin a single floorboard to achieve a desired effect, such as analternating light and dark pattern. It is also preferable that eachsection 12 in a single floorboard 10 be of the same length. However, asdiscussed more fully below, unique aesthetic effects can be obtained byassembling each floorboard 10 from a plurality of sections 12 having twoor more different lengths.

Sections 12 may be formed from scraps of wood from a milling operation,or may be cut from elongated wood planks. In either case, sections 12are cut to remove any defects therein and so that the ends thereof forman oblique angle θ with respect to the longitudinal direction offloorboard 10. As used herein, the longitudinal direction of floorboard10 is the direction in which the sections 12 are assembled, asidentified by axis X--X in the figures. Preferably, a 45 degree angle θis formed between the ends of sections 12 and the longitudinal axis X--Xof floorboard 10.

Sections 12 are joined together by any desired form of joint 14 havingsufficient strength to resist the stresses which will be applied to thefloorboard 10. One preferred joint, commonly referred to as a fingerjoint, is formed by providing the longitudinal ends of sections 12 withinterlocking wedge-shaped tenons 16. Before assembly, sections 12 arekiln dried to remove the moisture therefrom and a strong adhesive isapplied to the tenons 16 to hold sections 12 securely together. Wherefloorboards 10 are intended for an outdoor use, such as for a deck orporch, sections 12 are preferably assembled with a waterproof adhesive.Although finger jointing is a preferred expedient for joining sections12 together, it will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in theart that other joining methods may readily be employed.

Once joints 14 have been cured to a sufficient strength, floorboards 10are dressed by planing and/or sanding to remove any excess adhesive andachieve a uniform width and thickness throughout. It is an importantfeature of the present invention that, after the final dressingoperation, a joining line 18 along each joint 14 be visible on the uppersurface 20 of floorboard 10, that is, the surface of the floorboard 10which will be exposed when a plurality of floorboards 10 are assembledto form a floor. In order to insure the visibility of joining lines 18,or in order to make joining lines 18 more pronounced, a shallow channel22 may optionally be cut along that portion of joint 14 which is evidentin the upper surface 20 of floorboards 10. Channel 22 may be formed witha rectangular profile, as shown in FIG. 4, or alternatively with thoseprofiles which result from making V-cuts or beading cuts in surface 20.

In those cases where floorboards 10 are fabricated for indoor use, thelongitudinal edges thereof are provided with a conventional tongue 24and groove 26 as is generally known in the art, the tongue 24 of onefloorboard 10 being shaped to mate with the groove 26 of an adjacentfloorboard 10 to provide enhanced structural integrity and a neatappearance when the floorboards 10 are assembled to form a floor. On theother hand, when floorboards 10 are fabricated for outdoor use, there isno need to provide them with a tongue 24 and groove 26 inasmuch as thefloorboards 10 are typically assembled with a slight gap between each insuch applications to allow for water drainage.

When laying a floor using floorboards made in accordance with thepresent invention, a large variety of aesthetically pleasing patternscan be obtained. Representative examples of these patterns are shown inFIGS. 6-8. Referring to FIG. 6, a well-known herringbone pattern isillustrated. This pattern is achieved by alternately assembling twodifferent groups of floorboards. In the first group, identified asfloorboards 100, the sections 112 are all the same length and thejoining lines 118 are disposed at a first oblique angle α with respectto the longitudinal direction of the floorboards. In the second group,denoted floorboards 120, all the sections 122 are the same length as thesections 112 in floorboards 100. In floorboards 120, however, thejoining lines 128 travel at an oblique angle β to the longitudinaldirection of the floorboards which is opposite to the oblique angle α infloorboards 100. For instance, if joining lines 118 are formed at a -45degree angle to the longitudinal direction of the floorboards, joininglines 128 will be formed at a +45 degree angle to that direction. Inaccordance with the present description, oblique angles having apositive value are measured in a counterclockwise direction from areference line parallel to the longitudinal direction of a floorboard toa joining line, while oblique angles having a negative value aremeasured in a clockwise direction from the same reference line to ajoining line. The herringbone pattern shown in FIG. 6 is thus obtainedby alternately assembling floorboards 100 and 120 so that the joininglines in adjacent floorboards intersect.

A variety of other floor patterns may be achieved with floorboards 100and 120 by simply arranging the floorboards in different combinations.For instance, by assembling floorboards 100 adjacent to one another sothat the joining lines in adjacent floorboards intersect, a floor havingparallel diagonal lines will be formed. A similar pattern in which thediagonal lines travel in the opposite direction can be obtained byassembling floorboards 120 in a similar fashion. Moreover, a herringbonepattern that is wider than that shown in FIG. 6 can be achieved byalternately assembling groups of two or more adjacent floorboards 100with groups of the same number of adjacent floorboards 120 so that thejoining lines in all adjacent floorboards intersect.

A second pattern, shown in FIG. 7, may be obtained by interspersingfloorboards 130 between floorboards 100 and 120, arranged as in theherringbone pattern shown in FIG. 6, so that the joining lines inadjacent floorboards intersect. The joining lines 138 in floorboards 130are disposed perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of thefloorboards and separate sections 132, each of which has a length equalto the distance between joining lines 118 or 128 as measured in thelongitudinal direction of the floorboards. As above, a variety ofdifferent floor patterns may be developed by simply varying thearrangement in which floorboards 100, 120 and 130 are assembled.

A third pattern, in which the floorboards 150 and 160 are formed fromsections having different lengths, is shown in FIG. 8. Thus, floorboards150 consist of sections 152, 154 and 156 having progressively greaterlengths. Sections 152, 154 and 156 are separated by joining lines 158which are disposed at a first oblique angle with respect to thelongitudinal direction of the floorboards. Floorboards 160 are assembledfrom sections 162, 164 and 166 which have the same lengths as sections152, 154 and 156, respectively, but which are separated by joining lines168 which travel at an oblique angle to the longitudinal direction ofthe floorboards which is opposite to the oblique angle of joining lines158 in floorboards 150. Thus, by alternating floorboards 150 and 160 sothat the joining lines in adjacent floorboards intersect, a modifiedherringbone pattern similar to that described above in connection withFIG. 6 may be obtained. It will be readily apparent that a multitude ofpatterns and effects can be obtained by varying the lengths of theindividual segments and the order in which they are assembled.

Although the invention herein has been described with reference toparticular embodiments, it is to be understood that these embodimentsare merely illustrative of the principles and applications of thepresent invention. For example, floors having other desired patterns maybe obtained by arranging the floorboards of the present invention sothat the joining lines of adjacent floorboards do not intersect, or byassembling floors from floorboards having their joining lines formed atdifferent oblique angles. It is therefore to be understood that numerousmodifications may be made to the illustrative embodiments and that otherarrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:
 1. A floorboard comprising,a plurality of elongated sectionseach having a preselected length in an elongation direction between afirst end and a second end and a uniform width, said uniform width ineach of said plurality of sections being substantially equal, saidplurality of sections being connected to one another with one of saidends of one section connected to one of said ends of another section toform a continuous linear strip in said elongation direction, said striphaving substantially straight parallel side edges extending in saidelongation direction and spaced apart by said uniform width, saidconnection between adjacent ones of said plurality of sections forming ajoint having a distinct line and an oblique angle to said elongationdirection.
 2. A floorboard as claimed in claim 1 wherein saidpreselected lengths of each of said sections are equal.
 3. A floorboardas claimed in claim 1 wherein said plurality of sections are connectedby finger joints.
 4. A floorboard as claimed in claim 1 wherein saiddistinct lines are all at equal oblique angles to said elongationdirection.
 5. A floorboard as claimed in claim 4 wherein said obliqueangles are about 45°.
 6. A floorboard as claimed in claim 1 wherein saiddistinct lines include a shallow channel formed coextensively therewith.7. A floor comprising,a plurality of floorboards arranged adjacent toone another to form a planar assembly, each of said plurality offloorboards comprising a plurality of elongated sections each having apreselected length in an elongation direction between a first end and asecond end and a uniform width, said uniform width in each of saidplurality of sections being substantially equal, said plurality ofsections being connected to one another with one of said ends of onesection connected to one of said ends of another section to form acontinuous linear strip in said elongation direction, said strip havingsubstantially straight parallel side edges extending in said elongationdirection and spaced apart by said uniform width, said connectionbetween adjacent ones of said plurality of sections forming a jointhaving a distinct line transverse to said elongation direction, saiddistinct line in at least some of said plurality of floorboards beingdisposed at an oblique angle to said elongation direction.
 8. A floor asclaimed in claim 7 wherein said plurality of sections are connected byfinger joints.
 9. A floor as claimed in claim 7 wherein said distinctlines in any one of said floorboards are all at equal oblique angles tosaid elongation direction.
 10. A floor as claimed in claim 9 whereinsaid distinct lines in each of said floorboards are all at equal obliqueangles to said elongation direction.
 11. A floor as claimed in claim 10wherein said oblique angles are about 45°.
 12. A floor as claimed inclaim 7 wherein said preselected lengths of said sections in any one ofsaid floorboards are equal.
 13. A floor as claimed in claim 12 whereinsaid preselected lengths of said sections in all of said floorboards areequal.
 14. A floor as claimed in claim 7 wherein said distinct lines onadjacent floorboards intersect one another to form a pattern.
 15. Afloor as claimed in claim 14 wherein said oblique angles in ones of saidfloorboards are in a direction opposite to said oblique angles in othersof said floorboards.
 16. A method for forming a floorboardcomprising,providing a plurality of sections each having a preselectedlength in an elongation direction between a first end and a second endand a uniform width, said uniform width in each of said plurality ofsections being substantially equal, and connecting said plurality ofsections to one another with one of said ends of one section connectedto one of said ends of another section to form a continuous linear stripin said elongation direction, said strip having substantially straightparallel side edges extending in said elongation direction and spacedapart by said uniform width, the connection between adjacent ones ofsaid plurality of sections forming a joint having a distinct line at anoblique angle to said elongation direction.
 17. A method as claimed inclaim 16 wherein said step of connecting said plurality of sections toone another comprises finger jointing said plurality of sections to oneanother.